We propose a reinforcement learning approach for an adaptive selection and application of 3D point cloud feature descriptors for the purpose of 3D object classification. The result of the learning process is an autonomously learned strategy of selection of descriptors with the property that the successive application of these descriptors to a 3D point cloud yields high classification rates among a large number of object classes. The order in which the descriptors are applied to an unfamiliar point cloud depends on the features calculated in previous steps of the descriptor sequence, i.e., the sequence of descriptors depends on the object to be classified, thus it is highly adaptive. Our approach starts with a given number of descriptors and object classes, but it is able to adapt dynamically to changes in the environment. For example, further descriptors can be added during the learning process, and new object classes are created autonomously if necessary.


The paper aims to study the national and international expansion of SMEs from Anhui, China. The study focuses on the interaction of SMEs with the Government assessed through the development of specific industries as well as ownership and funding by the State, and the origins of the relative weakness of Chinese SMEs' competitive position. The data was collected from 154 SMEs and analysed using multivariate regressions; the models used the firms' export intensity at the regional, national, and international level as dependent variables. Seven models were run: the first one analysing the industry where SMEs operate, the second and third ones studying state funding and ownership, and the last four analysing a set of barriers hindering firms' expansion as independent variables. The results show that: a- SMEs operating in labour-intensive industries have better access to international markets, b- ownership and/or funding by the state do not play an important role in regional, national, and international expansion, and c- 11 barriers related to weak management skills and knowledge are hindering the expansion of Anhui's SMEs. The findings are then analysed vis-a-vis recent works on Chinese firms and conclusions are drawn.


This article contributes to an important literature on the determinants of academic patenting. We develop and test a model that predicts how individual characteristics and organizational factors affect individual patenting production. The analysis uses zero-inflated negative binomial regression on data from a 2010 national survey of 1,379 US-based university scientists and engineers, 624 of which hold no patents assigned to their current university. Findings from this research generally support our hypotheses that individual and organizational factors are associated with individual patent production. We find that while university patent policy and university technology transfer offices may be important for encouraging or discouraging scientists to patent the first time, department incentives and individual preferences and characteristics predict the number of patents that faculty produce. This research supports prior literature and develops new perspectives on how universities and policy-makers can understand and shape how individual and organizational constraints and incentives affect patent productivity. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.


Two adult males (ages 31 and 35 years) were studied while they participated in a week-long marathon tennis match under conditions of extreme sleep restriction (4-5 h reductions per night). Polysomnographic monitoring was conducted on the two nights prior to the marathon, continuously throughout the match, and on two recovery nights. In addition, measures of daytime sleepiness, mood state, and cognitive performance were obtained during the course of the study. Despite undergoing marked sleep restriction, both players continued to obtain their usual (baseline) amounts of slow wave sleep throughout the marathon. Both players showed a gradually increasing tendency toward daytime dozing across the first few days of the marathon. This tendency decreased on the fifth day but increased again on the sixth day of the match. Also, both players showed a pre- to postmatch decline on some cognitive measures. However, the players differed markedly in their ratings of sleepiness, mood ratings, recovery sleep patterns, and endurance with respect to the demands of the match. Results appear to be consistent with previous laboratory studies in documenting the primacy of the "slow wave sleep drive." Given the marked differences observed between the players, research designed to identify factors that predict response to sleep loss seems to be warranted.


The strategies of the syntheses of various (thio)ureas, semicarbazides, thiosemicarbazides, thiazolidones, and oxadiazole derived from the [2.2]paracyclophane molecule are achieved starting with 4-(2.2]paracyclophanyl)isocyanate. The structures of the obtained products were elucidated by NMR, mass spectrometry, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy in addition to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). X-ray structure analysis was also used to prove the assigned structure.


The ongoing molecular revolution in ant systematics, of which Ross Crozier was an early proponent and practitioner, has led to remarkable progress in our understanding of ant phylogeny. In this review I consider the interplay between molecular and morphological evidence, and the integration of molecular phylogenetic results into ant classification. New phylogenetic findings indicate that most ant subfamilies and genera are monophyletic, but there are some significant exceptions, including the subfamily Cerapachyinae and several large and species-rich ant genera (Amblyopone, Aphaenogaster, Camponotus, Cerapachys, Messor and Pachycondyla, among others). These non-monophyletic groups are manifestations of two different phenomena: (1) convergence in morphology and (2) heterogeneity in rates of morphological evolution. Granivorous ants in the genus Messor are an example of the former: molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that the New World and Old World Messor are separate lineages that independently evolved similar derived morphology. Heterogeneity in rates of evolution is exemplified by highly divergent army ants and certain other dorylomorphs – currently assigned to different genera, tribes and subfamilies – that are nested phylogenetically within a group of morphologically plesiomorphic species, most of which are placed in a single genus (Cerapachys). This presents a classificatory conundrum if we wish to maintain a Linnaean (i.e., ranked) classification system in which all named taxa are monophyletic and easily diagnosed. Nevertheless, despite the conceptual appeal of a rank-free classification (as embodied in the PhyloCode), there are practical advantages to maintaining a ranked phylogenetic taxonomy, at least for groups such as ants that are in relatively recent and species-rich branches of the tree of life. These benefits include explicit information about the inclusivity and exclusivity of clades, and identification (through binomial nomenclature) of those taxa that are considered to represent species. It is important to recognize that the assignment of family-group or genus-group rank to clades is arbitrary and that ant taxa of a given rank are not equivalent, except in a very approximate sense. A new modus operandi is emerging in ant taxonomy above the species level, wherein molecular (DNA sequence) data from multiple nuclear genes are used to generate a well supported phylogeny, and the resulting tree serves as a framework for evaluating the informativeness of morphological traits and for identifying (and naming) clades that can be diagnosed morphologically. In following this protocol an attempt should be made to maintain continuity in nomenclature and taxon concepts with the preexisting classification, to the extent that this is possible. A similar set of principles has been followed by plant systematists developing a ranked phylogenetic classification of flowering plants (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system).


A Lagrangian stochastic travel time approach has been usedfor investigating dominant process impacts on (non-reactive andreactive) solute transport in the integrated soil-groundwatersystem. A first step has also been taken to extending thisLagrangian stochastic travel time approach to integrate thesoil-groundwater-stream transport through a catchment.The chosen modeling approach enabled us to explicitlyaccount for several important hydrological-physical mechanismsthat may affect subsurface solute transport and spreading. Inaddition to random flow heterogeneity, we incorporated theeffects of the source distribution (in particular, thelongitudinal source extent that implies considerablevariability in solute pathway lengths to a control plane),non-uniformity in the mean groundwater flow due to groundwaterrecharge along the mean flow direction, and the possibleexistence of preferential flow and less mobile (or immobile)water. Various biogeochemical mass transfer and transformationprocesses (for instance, natural attenuation processes such asbiological degradation, radioactive decay andsorption/desorption) may also be accounted for in theconsidered modeling approach.Theoretical stochastic analyses of groundwater transporthave commonly not considered longitudinal source extents andnon-uniformity in the mean flow due to groundwater recharge. Weshow the importance of both these factors for relevantassessment of expected solute breakthrough at some downstreamcontrol plane. In particular in the near-field of sources thathave large extent, such as for basin-wide contaminationproblems, these factors have a pronounced effect on contaminanttransport and spreading, also increasing the total mass ofdegradable contaminant that may leach to a downstream controlplane.The relative importance of rapid preferential transport andassociated diffusive mass transfer of solute between mobileandimmobile water regions increases with increasing content ofimmobile water and decreasing rate of diffusive mass transfer.Further, the occurrence of preferential flow may alsoconsiderably increase the total leached mass of reactive waterpollutants, such as herbicides that was specificallyinvestigated in this thesis.The modeling of coupled solute transport through anintegrated soil-groundwater-stream system shows thatsignificant solute transport by groundwater to streams, and thepossible existence of subsurface preferential flow paths withassociated diffusive mass transfer processes, extend therelevant time scales for the catchment-scale process overseveral orders of magnitude. Better understanding andquantification of the subsurface catchment-scale transportprocess are essential for correct predictions of possibleadverse effects on water quality and for judging theperformance of different measures for water quality protectionor remediation.In general, application of the Lagrangian stochastic traveltime approach to field-specific experiments yielded robustmodel parameter values, in terms of mobile and immobile watercontents, rates of diffusive mass transfer between mobile andimmobile water zones, and herbicide reaction parameter values(retardation factors, first-order rates of mass transferbetween mobile and adsorbed phase, and first-order degradationrates in the dissolved and adsorbed phase). The results arereproducible and consistent, with other comparable experimentaldata reported in the literature.Keywords: solute transport, groundwater transport,integrated soil-groundwater system, unsaturated zone,stochastic processes, preferential flow, catchment hydrology,Lagrangian transport model, dominant process impacts.


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasing in incidence due to widespread use of cephalosporin antibiotics. These infections, generally, are characteristically hospital acquired and related to antibiotic pressure. The appearance of community acquired MRSA has recently been observed among IV drug abusers (IVDA). The duration and type of antibiotic therapy is controversial. Twenty patients with IVDA related mycotic aneurysms and associated soft tissue infections were evaluated. Particular attention was given to the bacteria cultured, the antibiotic therapy used and the response to therapy. Antibiotic use was inconsistent. Thirty per cent of the patients received no antibiotics. Although 62 per cent of the Staphylococcus aureus infections in this group were methicillin-resistant and quite extensive, the antibiotics used had no clinical importance. The need for vancomycin as therapy for extensive soft tissue infections with MRSA may be overrated and probably contributes to the development of increasing antibiotic resistance.


Stem cell science is a modern global form, yet it serves deeply social and often nationalistic visions of the role of biotechnology, and its practices and meanings are contingent and situated. In this paper, I show how stem cell research represents a deliberate conjoining of biotechnology and national development in Taiwan. This paper is based on more than a year of ethnographic research conducted in Taiwan between 2005 and 2007 and builds upon Charis Thompson's (2010) comparative analysis of flagship stem cell laboratories in Singapore and South Korea. It is also in conversation with Keller and Samuel's (2003) categorical system that classifies Taiwan as a "technohybrid" located between the "technoglobal" and the "technonational." Here, I argue that while Taiwan's stem cell development incorporates aspects of national, global, and international orientations, these manifest within dynamic and heterogeneous assemblages. Taiwan's national investment in regenerative medicine is a rich site in which to examine visions of a national present and future as well as of Taiwan's place on the stage of global science.


Teachers need professional development to keep current with teaching practices, although costs for extensive professional development can be prohibitive across an education system. Mentoring provides one way for embedding cost-effective professional development. This mixed-method study includes surveying mentor teachers (n = 101) on a five-part Likert scale and interviews with experienced mentors (n = 10) to investigate professional development for mentors as a result of the mentoring process. Quantitative data were analysed through a pedagogical knowledge framework and qualitative data were collated into themes. Survey data showed that although mentoring of pedagogical knowledge was variable, mentoring pedagogical knowledge practices occurs with the majority of mentors, which requires mentors to evaluate and articulate teaching practices. Qualitative data showed that mentoring acted as professional development and led towards enhancing communication skills, developing leadership roles (problem-solving and building capacity) and advancing pedagogical knowledge. Providing professional development to teachers on mentoring can help to build capacity in two ways: quality mentoring of preservice teachers through explicit mentoring practices, and reflecting and deconstructing teaching practices for mentors' own pedagogical advancements.


Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is frequently used in the social sciences and is a common component in many validity studies. A core aspect of EFA is the determination of which observed indicator variables are associated with which latent factors through the use of factor loadings. Loadings are initially extracted using an algorithm, such as maximum likelihood or weighted least squares, and then transformed - or rotated - to make them more interpretable. There are a number of rotational techniques available to the researcher making use of EFA. Prior work has discussed the advantages of a number of these criteria from a theoretical perspective, but few previous studies compare their performance across a broad range of conditions. This simulation study compared eight factor rotation criteria in terms of how well they were able to group dichotomous indicator variables correctly on the same factor, order the indicators by the magnitude of the factor loadings (identifying those indicators that were most strongly associated with the factors) and estimate the inter-factor correlations. Results reveal a mixed pattern of performance among the various rotations with the orthogonal Equamax consistently near the top in terms of correctly grouping and ordering indicator variables, and the orthogonal Facparsim performing well with more observed indicators. Advice regarding possible rotations to use for researchers conducting EFA with dichotomous indicators is provided.


The Hibernating Ribosome When bacteria enter stationary phase, their ribosomes are inactivated. In Escherichia coli, ribosome modulation factor (RMF) causes dimerization of the 70S ribosome and the dimer is stabilized by, hibernation promotion factor (HPF). Alternately, the stationary phase protein, YfiA, inactivates 70S ribosomes. Polikanov et al. (p. 915) present high-resolution structures of the Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome bound to each of these three factors. The structures suggest that RMF binding inhibits protein synthesis by preventing initial messenger RNA (mRNA) binding and that HPF and YfiA have overlapping binding sites and would both interfere with binding of mRNA, transfer RNA, and initiation factors. Three crystal structures show why bacteria stop making proteins when they enter the stationary phase. Eubacteria inactivate their ribosomes as 100S dimers or 70S monomers upon entry into stationary phase. In Escherichia coli, 100S dimer formation is mediated by ribosome modulation factor (RMF) and hibernation promoting factor (HPF), or alternatively, the YfiA protein inactivates ribosomes as 70S monomers. Here, we present high-resolution crystal structures of the Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome in complex with each of these stationary-phase factors. The binding site of RMF overlaps with that of the messenger RNA (mRNA) Shine-Dalgarno sequence, which prevents the interaction between the mRNA and the 16S ribosomal RNA. The nearly identical binding sites of HPF and YfiA overlap with those of the mRNA, transfer RNA, and initiation factors, which prevents translation initiation. The binding of RMF and HPF, but not YfiA, to the ribosome induces a conformational change of the 30S head domain that promotes 100S dimer formation.


Using Sankhyā – The Indian Journal of Statistics as a case, present study aims to identify scholarly collaboration pattern of statistical science based on research articles appeared during 2008 to 2017. This is an attempt to visualize and quantify statistical science research collaboration in multiple dimensions by exploring the co-authorship data. It investigates chronological variations of collaboration pattern, nodes and links established among the affiliated institutions and countries of all contributing authors. The study also examines the impact of research collaboration on citation scores. Findings reveal steady influx of statistical publications with clear tendency towards collaborative ventures, of which double-authored publications dominate. Small team of 2 to 3 authors is responsible for production of majority of collaborative research, whereas mega-authored communications are quite low. Country- wise mapping of research contributions revels that, top five countries have contributed about 66% of the total authors and about 55% of the total affiliated institutions. Indicates few numbers of countries has substantial participation to statistical science research, while large majority has nominal contributions. Of which, USA contributes the most (31%) followed by India, Canada, France and Japan. Result therefore indicates presence of 'sort of 'clique' with dominant foreign coauthors. Further analysis reveals that, unilateral collaboration dominates at the country level whereas at the institution level bilateral collaboration dominates - implies authors from two different institutions of same country are key contributors of this specialty. Indian Statistical Institute (native institute of the source journal) found to be the most productive institution. Study therefore signifies skewed distribution of co-authorship with limited evidence of cross-country collaboration. Furthermore, Google Scholar citation analysis showed that collaboration has significant positive influence on the article impact.


The study was conducted to find out the effect of cooperative learning strategies on students' skill of interpretation and analysis at the higher secondary level. The research was quantitative. A pre-test post-test control group design was adopted for the study. One female public sector higher secondary school of district Sargodha was the population of the study. 60 students of grade XI were selected as a sample by using a simple random sampling technique. Two groups were formed: experimental and control comprising thirty students each. The experimental group was taught by applying cooperative learning strategies; jigsaw and scripted cooperation, while the conventional method was used to teach the control group. The period of intervention was sixteen weeks and English book I for grade XI was selected as content for intervention. A self-made test was used to assess the skills of interpretation and analysis as pretest and posttest. Data of pretest and posttest were analyzed by applying paired sample t-test. Analysis of the data showed a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group. On the other hand, there was no significant improvement seen in the control group. Teachers were recommended to use cooperative learning strategies to develop the critical thinking skills of the students.


Do service providers respond to pecuniary incentives to serve the poor? Service delivery to the poor is complicated by the extra effort required to deliver services to them and the intrinsic incentives of service providers to exert this effort. Incentive schemes typically fail to account for these complications. A lab-in-the-field experiment with nearly 400 health workers in rural Burkina Faso provides strong evidence that the interaction of effort costs, ability, and intrinsic and extrinsic incentives significantly influences service delivery to the poor. Health workers reviewed video vignettes of medical cases involving poor and nonpoor patients under a variety of bonus schemes. Bonuses to serve the poor have less impact on effort than bonuses to serve the nonpoor; health workers who receive equal bonuses to serve poor and nonpoor patients see fewer poor patients than workers who receive only a flat salary; and bonuses operate largely through their influence on the behavior of pro-poor workers. The paper also presents novel evidence on the selection effects of contract type: pro-poor workers prefer the flat salary contract to the variable salary contract.


This thesis describes the work on designing and testing an antenna solution for communications between cars. The antenna that is to be used is a so called ESPAR antenna or Electronically Steerable Passive Array Radiator using monopoles over a circular ground plane. Simulations were made on the following variations of the antenna: • The number of passive monopoles and the angle between them • The radius and height of the active and passive monopoles • The height of the skirt and the radius of the ground plane • Matching schemes The antenna that was decided to be the best for this application had these characteristics: - Ground plane radius 75 mm or half a wavelength - Skirt height of 37.5 mm or a quarter wavelengths - Six parasitic monopoles with a height of 39 mm equally spaced around an active monopole of 35 mm - Distance from active monopole to parasitic monopoles of a quarter wavelengths - Half power beam width of about 90 degrees and a front to back ratio of 16 dB - Gain of about 7.5 dB and an elevation angle of 25 degrees From these results a prototype of the antenna was constructed with different heights of the active and parasitic monopoles. The measurements showed less variation between the different configurations of the antenna than the simulations indicated. The largest difference was the elevation angle of the antenna. This was found to be about 0 degrees for all configurations which is an improvement of about 25 degrees from the simulated results. The best results was found to be with an antenna that has the same configurations as the simulated one described above but with a parasitic monopole height of 37 mm. The measurements showed the following specifications: - Gain of about 9.5 dB - HPBW of 80 degrees - FTBR of about 12 dB Because of certain elements in the construction of the antenna the measurements of the matching were inconclusive, and were not weighed heavily in this thesis.


: An experience of reforming the healthcare system in the Saratov Region is outlined in the paper. The reforms are based primarily on the following: a system of stimulating payments; a contract-based structure of labor management and of remuneration; quality monitoring of medical services; and resource-sparing technologies.


Prevalence and severity of dental disease vary from individual to individual and is affected by age, gender, education, and socioeconomic status.Most oral diseases, like most chronic pathologies in general, are causally related to lifestyle.Oral hygiene maintenance is an important factor in a person's life. It helps in maintaining durability and function of our teeth. Oral health knowledge is considered to be an essential prerequisite for health-related behavior. Sri Lanka, a country with a 22 million population, requires an awareness of oral hygiene practices to have a healthy population.The aim of the study is to know the oral hygiene practices among jewellers in Srilanka. A cross sectional survey was initiated from a randomly chosen population of 100 jewellers in Sri Lanka from different districts. Out of the 100 samples all were males. The survey was conducted online using survey planet online survey tool. The survey instrument used was a pretested questionnaire comprising 10 questions eliciting responses pertaining to the knowledge on oral hygiene practices. The data collected from these 100 jewellers then statistically analysed to generate appropriate results regarding the questionnaire study. The results show that 75% of the jewellers in Sri Lanka brush twice a day and 76% of them use floss or mouthwash other than brushing; this indicates that they follow a proper oral hygiene practice and are aware of the oral hygiene practices to be followed.The current study concludes that the jewellers in srilanka follow satisfactory oral hygiene practices.


Growth of the Thermally Grown Oxide (TGO) between the bond coat and thermal barrier coating (TBC) during service is one of the most common causes of failure within thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems. Initially this oxide will provide protection from oxidation for the substrate, but stress build up will contribute to delamination of the topcoat. Research has been carried out over the stresses caused by this TGO growth, and how to best mitigate these induced stresses. The interface topography plays a critical role for air plasma sprayed (APS) TBCs in development of stress profiles across the TGO/TBC interface [1, 2]. The APS TBCs fail by cracking in the TBC close to the TGO-TBC interface. Most models treat TGO as a sinusoidal wavelength interface. However, most TGO surfaces have been experimentally observed to have fractal like patterns at the interfacial region of the bondcoat and topcoat. Fractals provide us a better understanding of interactions at rough interfaces between two materials adhered to one another. In this work, we model the topography of the TGO using a Koch fractal. We find the geometry selected to model the TGO layer has a direct effect on the stress generation and creep strain during simulation.


Abstract. Increasing consumption of non-renewable energy has become a topic of global problems today due to its limited availability with a high potential for environmental damage. Seeing these problems, it is necessary to develop renewable energy that is more environmentally friendly and has great potential in Indonesia. One of Indonesia's potentials is an archipelago country with the second-largest coastline in the world with a coastline of 108,000 km. This causes Indonesia to have quite a large potential for ocean currents, namely around 1.5 m/s and reaching 2.5–3.4 m/s for the Nusa Tenggara region. The energy of ocean currents has the potential to be developed because of its relatively stable and predictable nature. Good planning by observing the potential resources and energy needs spatially is needed in the process of managing and utilizing energy in a maximum and sustainable manner. This study aims to analyze areas that have the potential to generate ocean current energy in Indonesia and utilize spatial and socioeconomic elements to determine the effective and efficient distribution of Ocean Current Power Plants (PLTAL), especially for coastal areas and small islands. This study will integrate multi-dynamic spatial data, such as ocean current data, electrification needs of each region, economic and transportation data, as well as a model of potential land availability based on remote sensing data. The result of this research is in the form of priority analysis of PLTAL development in Indonesia in terms of energy output, spatial aspects, and socioeconomic aspects. It is hoped that the results of this study can be used as considerations and solutions for policymakers in making decisions regarding the development of PLTAL in Indonesia, especially to meet the energy needs of coastal areas and small islands.


Dr Shimaoka correctly notes that metastatic cancer may cause hyperthyroidism with low radioactive iodine uptake. However, this is rare and seldom a diagnostic problem. The patients usually have widespread disease and do not survive long. 1 The radioactive iodine uptake is low because discharged thyroid hormone suppresses pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) release. After parenteral TSH administration, the image will demonstrate the size and sites of uninvolved areas of thyroid tissue, findings quite dissimilar to those of subacute thyroiditis. Unfortunately, Dr Shimaoka did not perform this study. 2 Also, his patient's return to normal thyroid status contrasts sharply with the persistent thyroid involvement characteristic of metastatic cancer. Perhaps a remarkable recovery is possible with lymphoma, but I agree with Dr Shimaoka that the thyroid findings he reported are identical to those seen with spontaneously resolving silent subacute thyroiditis (or silent chronic thyroiditis, as some readers may prefer). This patient might have


Small molecules, such as oligopeptides can interact with nucleic acid targets and subsequently stimulate or supress biological functions. The purpose of this thesis was to produce nucleic acid targeting oligopeptides which contain non-natural amino acids as part of their sequence.
Certain amino acids display selectivity for certain nucleobases. Arginine has a high propensity for being present at the binding interface of both protein-DNA and protein-RNA complexes. This thesis was aimed at the synthesis of two arginine analogues in which the guanidino side chain was locked in a bicyclic framework. It was expected that this would result in highly directional H-bonding capabilities of the side chains of the two analogues, which was predicted to give superior selectivity when discriminating between targets.
This thesis discusses the synthetic routes undertaken in an attempt to produce these two analogues. The synthesis of the two analogues proceeded by quite different routes. The first entailed manipulation of a chiral starting material to ultimately produce the bicyclic guanidine. However, incorporation of the amino acid moiety proved difficult and thus is incomplete. However, there is scope for further work to build on the endeavours mentioned in this work. The attempted synthesis of the second analogue focused on the formation of a substituted triamine prior to cyclisation to give the bicyclic guanidine. This method also produced many problems and so the synthesis still requires further work.
The thesis also details the design and synthesis of a peptide library with the majority of peptides possessing at least one arginine residue within their sequence. This produced a range of peptides in small quantities (nanomolar) which was screened against an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results of the assay highlighted library members who displayed a binding affinity towards the oligonucleotide targets and from this their sequences were determined. Future work can be performed using these results so that binding association constants can be determined. Once the arginine analogues have been successfully synthesised these can be incorporated into these peptide sequences in place of the arginine residues.


Heat shock led to marked changes in the apparent levels of phosphorylation of nuclear proteins in the fungus Achlya ambisexualis. We characterized these heat shock-induced changes in nuclear proteins on two types of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel systems. We report here that one of two Achlya H3 histones (H3.1) and also the oomycete histone alpha appear to be highly phosphorylated with heat shock. Additional changes observed in acid-soluble nuclear proteins included an apparent increase in the 32P labeling of a 43,000-molecular-weight protein and the dephosphorylation of a major group of Achlya phosphoproteins in the 30,000-to-32,000-molecular-weight range. The changes in protein phosphorylation were accompanied by striking changes in the morphology of Achlya nuclei. Nuclei in the heat-shocked cells, but not in control cells, exhibited marked chromatin condensation and contained bundles of filaments which were approximately 4 nm in diameter. Concomitantly, the bulk of chromatin from heat-shocked nuclei showed a decreased sensitivity to digestion with the enzyme DNase I relative to chromatin from control cells.


Biogas production is one of the influential innovations of recent decades in German agriculture. Due to high guaranteed energy prices biogas production led to distortions in agricultural and land markets. This paper provides insights in effects of biogas production on farms, farm structures and rural areas for the region Altmark, Germany, for the period 2012-2026 by using the agent-based simulation model AgriPoliS. AgriPoliS enables to simulate agricultural structural change and impacts of policies based on a linear programming approach. To maximize the household-income, farm agents can invest, produce and compete against each other on the land rental market. To analyse effects of biogas production, biogas plants, possible substrate mixtures and feed-in remunerations are introduced in the model. In our analyses, we focus on 1) the choice of production of farms, 2) the competition between farms, and 3) impacts on rural areas including environmental issues and labour market. Our simulation results show that biogas production provides especially for farmers with high management capabilities and large farms a profitable income opportunity. On average, biogas farms cannot increase their profitability. As result of an increased value added through biogas production and high competition among farms, rental prices increase and thus a high share of the value added is transferred to the land owners. Biogas production leads to an intensification of land use, especially to increases in cultivation of grass and maize silage instead of meadows and other crops, and in livestock production. This may cause negative environmental effects. On the other hand both, the intensification and the biogas production have positive effects on the labour market as biogas farms have an additional workforce demand.


We propose a novel technique for measuring the surface temperature distribution of optical elements interacting with high power laser radiation. This technique is based on measuring temperature sensitive piezoelectric resonance frequencies of nonlinearoptical crystals that are transparent at involved laser radiation wavelengthes. Using small thermoresonators made of the lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystal the kinetics of the surface temperature distribution of the silica lens heated by 11W CW laser radiation at 1064 nm was measured. According to measured data, the optical absorption coefficient of the lens was evaluated to be


A chart is presented for the values of the coefficient in the formula for the critical compressive stress at which buckling may be expected to occur in outstanding flanges. These flanges are flat rectangular plates supported along the loaded edges, supported and elastically restrained along one unloaded edge, and free along the other unloaded edge. The mathematical derivations of the formulas required for construction of the chart are given.


The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the simultaneous determination of debt, dividend, and inside ownership policies in Sweden. We apply a simultaneous equation model estimated with 3SLS. The results reveal a positive two-way causal relationship between debt and dividend polices. We also find a two-way causal relationship between inside ownership and dividend policies, but dividends affect inside ownership in a positive way while inside ownership affects dividends in a negative way. Further, we find a relationship between inside ownership and debt policies, but any causality appears to run from inside ownership to debt in a negative way. This study supports the notion that the convergence of interest and the entrenchment theory are not mutually exclusive. We also show that a SEM estimated with 3SLS is justified empirically over the OLS and that the difference between using 3SLS compared to 2SLS is negligible in our model.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the acute kinematic changes that occur on the youth baseball swing following use of a resistance tubing training device.
Methods: Kinematic data were collected on 10 subjects (13.2 ±1.9 years of age; 161.8 ±17.4 cm; 54.4 ±15.9 kg) at 240 Hz using Flock of Birds electromagnetic tracking system (TrackSTAR™, Ascension Technologies Inc., Burlington, VT., USA) synced with The MotionMonitor® (Innovative Sports Training, Chicago, IL., USA). Participants were required to hit 5 baseballs off of a tee with intention to hit line drives up the middle. At the completion of a three-minute rest, the participants were equipped with the resistance tubing training device and asked to perform 20 low effort dry swings. Subjects were then asked to hit 5 baseballs off a tee while wearing a resistance tubing training device and then 5 more off the tee without wearing a resistance tubing training device. Data were analyzed for the pre-device and post-device hits.
Results: A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences pre-resistance and post-resistance tubing training device for center of mass over base of support (COM over BOS) or segmental velocities (Λ=0.68, F4,6=0.72, p=0.608). Conclusion: The absence of a significant decrease in segmental velocities could expose a resistance tubing training device as an appropriate warm-up tool and beneficial training aid. Because the resistance tubing training device is not detrimental to segmental velocities in the acute sense, it should be considered a practical sport-specific training aid.


We human classify things and phenomena by linguistic intellect. We should recognize the borders clearly between things to live a social life. At school we have been educated to act and talk rationally. However I'm wondering if it's really good that everything is demanded to be clear and reasonable "something".It seems that modern human beings too much believe in their rational intellect and try to erase everything which is out of their understanding. If a science phenomenon is un-analyzable, researchers get heated about making it clear. If someone acts in an incomprehensive way, other people put the title "mental disorder" to that person and exclude him or her from society. However does such rationality-worship really bring us mental satisfaction and true happiness? Are un-understandable unknown things really unnecessary in the world? By getting rid of all those things, isn't modern human in his or her invisible sickness and Torget that we are imperfect creature?I see a key to recover human-likeness in something which is not anything which we have been trying to exclude from our surroundings. Average weight of our brain is only 1300 grams. The rational world which we construct with that 1300 grams are not everything but only one part of truth. What we can experience in this world is much deeper and richer. We human beings have seen the world as measurable, analyzable and logical, but now we need to recognize our mind and world as a whole embrace, even paradox and irrationality. What I try to do through creating is to reach this something which is not anything at depth of mind and find out how I could communicate with the outside world through my work. Two main issues I investigate:Why and how do I through craft deal with something which is not anything?Why and how is something which is not anything necessary in the contemporary world?


We present a novel pair of numerical models of the interaction history between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC, respectively) and our Milky Way (MW) in light of recent high-precision proper motions from the Hubble Space Telescope. Given the updated velocities, cosmological simulations of hierarchical structure formation favour a scenario where the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are currently on their first infall towards our Galaxy. We illustrate here that the observed irregular morphology and internal kinematics of the Magellanic System (in gas and stars) are naturally explained by interactions between the LMC and SMC, rather than gravitational interactions with the MW. These conclusions provide further support that the MCs are completing their first infall to our system. In particular, we demonstrate that the Magellanic Stream, a band of H i gas trailing behind the Clouds 150° across the sky, can be accounted for by the action of LMC tides on the SMC before the system was accreted by the MW. We further demonstrate that the off-centre, warped stellar bar of the LMC, and its one-armed spiral can be naturally explained by a recent direct collision with its lower mass companion, the SMC. Such structures are key morphological characteristics of a class of galaxies referred to as Magellanic Irregulars, the majority of which are not associated with massive spiral galaxies. We infer that dwarf–dwarf galaxy interactions are important drivers for the morphological evolution of Magellanic Irregulars and can dramatically affect the efficiency of baryon removal from dwarf galaxies via the formation of extended tidal bridges and tails. Such interactions are not only important for the evolution of dwarf galaxies but also have direct consequences for the build-up of baryons in our own MW, as LMC-mass systems are believed to be the dominant building blocks of MW-type haloes.


BACKGROUND Variation in lifespan has followed strikingly different trends for the young and old: while total lifespan variability has decreased as life expectancy at birth has risen, the variability conditional on survival to older ages has increased. These diverging trends reflect changes in the underlying demographic parameters determining age-specific mortality. OBJECTIVE We ask why the variation in the ages at death after survival to adult ages has followed a different trend than the variation at younger ages, and aim to explain the divergence in terms of the age pattern of historical mortality changes. METHODS Using simulations, we show that the empirical trends in lifespan variation are well characterized using the Siler model, which describes the mortality trajectory using functions representing early-life, later-life, and background mortality. We then obtain maximum likelihood estimates of the Siler parameters for Swedish females from 1900 to 2010. We express mortality in terms of a Markov chain model, and apply matrix calculus to compute the sensitivity of age-specific variance trends to the changes in Siler model parameters. RESULTS Our analysis quantifies the influence of changing demographic parameters on lifespan variability at all ages, highlighting the influence of declining childhood mortality on the reduction of lifespan variability, and the influence of subsequent improvements in adult survival on the rising variability of lifespans at older ages. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide insight into the dynamic relationship between the age pattern of survival improvements and time trends in lifespan variability.


Drawing fascinating comparisons between two literary movements for social justice, Tracy Mishkin explores the link between the Irish Renaissance that began in the 1880s and the African-American movement of the 1920s known as the Harlem Renaissance.Starting with evidence that Ireland's Abbey Theatre tours of the United States before World War I influenced such African-Americans as Alain Locke and James Weldon Johnson, Mishkin offers the first full-scale discussion of the historical similarities and differences of the two movements. Both rose from the ashes of history -- from people suffering years of oppression during which their native languages were lost or stolen -- to confront issues of language and identity; and both had to combat negative mainstream representation of their people, all the while debating how to create their own literature. Included throughout is the work of women who participated in both movements but who often have been marginalized in their histories.Going beyond national boundaries, Mishkin takes the study of interracial literary influence across the Atlantic and establishes important parallels between the Harlem and Irish Renaisances.


The Darwin Core Standard is a widely shared data standard within the ecological community. Despite recent developments on sampling events and abiotic records (De Pooter 2017), the Darwin Core only allows recording raw data, while public policies and biodiversity evaluations often need synthetic, estimated data. To be reliable, those estimation records, such as population size, population density, community diversity, and primary production, need to display statistical characteristics, such as standard error. Within the Enetwild consortium (https://enetwild.com/), financed by the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), we face this issue while aggregating data across European countries on wildlife surveys: occurrences, abundances and hunting bags. We therefore propose a revision to the Darwin Core Standard, taking advantage of the recent development corresponding to the Event core of the European Biodiversity Observatory Network and the extended measurement or fact of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (De Pooter 2017). The proposed nested extended measurement or fact extension allows the recording of estimated densities with their confidence intervals or other precision measurements. It allows a measurement (the confidence interval, the variance) to be nested within another measurement value (e.g., the point estimation). We also provide metadata to record the useful statistical procedure information to best evaluate and use these data. We believe this development will be useful for all institutions aggregating results, especially the international Essential Biodiversity Variables community, allowing them to aggregate results data along with raw data. ‡ © Body G. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The full technical report is published on EFSA website (Enetwild consortium et al. 2020).


Abstract Nutrient and light availability, and their balance, can modify community composition and structure in pelagic communities. Previous studies have demonstrated contradictory findings about whether total phosphorus (TP) concentrations alone or the ratio of total nitrogen (TN) to TP concentrations (TN:TP) drive Cyanobacteria dominance in freshwater ecosystems, and influences of light availability are often overlooked. Here, we analyzed a 12 year, 137 lake database to test paradigms of phytoplankton compositional patterns across nutrient (TN, TP, TN:TP) and light availability gradients in an agricultural region. We hypothesized that (1) TN:TP ratios would better predict phytoplankton compositional shifts than TP concentrations alone, (2) Cyanobacteria relative abundance would increase at low TN:TP ratios, and (3) Cyanobacteria biomass fluctuations would be the primary driver of light climate. We found that TN:TP ratios better described phytoplankton compositional patterns than TP concentrations, with Cyanobacteria proportions decreasing with increasing TN:TP while other taxa increased. Contrary to expectations, Cyanobacteria always dominated community composition (≥80% biomass), regardless of TP concentrations. Despite these patterns, N-fixing Cyanobacteria proportions were not correlated to TN:TP, suggesting that shifts toward N-fixation were not solely driving phytoplankton compositional patterns. Although Cyanobacteria biomass decreased with increasing light availability, inorganic particles explained more variance in light than total phytoplankton biomass, suggesting that buoyancy-regulating Cyanobacteria may gain an initial competitive advantage in light acquisition before bloom development in turbid systems. These findings suggest that Cyanobacteria strongly influence pelagic community dynamics in nutrient-enriched lakes, and their ability to manipulate light and nutrient environments enable their persistent dominance across large environmental gradients.


By mixing ionic liquids (ILs), it is possible to fine-tune their bulk and interfacial structure. This alters their physical properties and solvation behavior and is a simple way to prepare a collection of ILs whose properties can be tuned to optimize a specific application. In this study, mixtures of perfluorinated and alkylated ILs have been prepared, and links between composition, properties, and nanostructure have been investigated. These different classes of ILs vary substantially in the flexibility and polarizability of their chains. Thus, a range of useful structural and physical property variations are accessible through mixing that will expand the library of IL mixtures available in an area that to this point has received relatively little attention. In the experiments presented herein, the physical properties and bulk structure of mixtures of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C8MIM][Tf2N] and 1-(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C8MIM-F13][Tf2N] have been prepared. The bulk liquid structure was investigated using a combination of small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS and SANS, respectively) experiments in combination with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and the measurement of density and viscosity. We observed that the addition of [C8MIM-F13][Tf2N] to [C8MIM][Tf2N] causes changes in the nanostructure of the IL mixtures that are dependent on composition so that variation in the characteristic short-range correlations is observed as a function of composition. Thus, while the length scales associated with the apolar regions (polar non-polar peak—PNPP) increase with the proportion of [C8MIM-F13][Tf2N] in the mixtures, perhaps surprisingly given the greater volume of the fluorocarbon chains, the length scale of the charge-ordering peak decreases. Interestingly, consideration of the contact peak shows that its origins are both in the direct anion···cation contact length scale and the nature (and hence volume) of the chains appended to the imidazolium cation.


The performance of Augmented Reality (AR) direct object selection coded outside of the human egocentric body frame of reference is decreased under short-term altered gravity. Therefore an adequate countermeasure is required. This paper presents the results of a proof-of-concept (POC) study to investigate the impact of simulated hypergravity on target's size and distance. For gravity-dependent resizing and -positioning we used Hooke's law for the target deformation. The POC study was divided in two experiments, whereby hypergravity was induced by a long-arm human centrifuge and by weights attached to subjects' dominant arm. The study showed that at higher gravity levels larger target size and larger distance between the targets led to increased performance.


Abstract The previously unknown, complex crystal structures of two fibrous ferric iron phosphate minerals have been solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure of a slightly arsenatian kidwellite has been refined in space group P2/c (a = 20.117(4), b = 5.185(1), c = 13.978(3) Å , β = 107.07(3)º, V = 1393.8(5) Å3, Z = 2) to R1 = 5.21%; a revision of both space group symmetry and chemical formula is proposed. The idealized formula is Na(Fe3+,M)9+x(OH)11(H2O)3(PO4)6, where M = Fe3+, Cu2+ or other metal cation, and x ≈ 0.3. The structure of a slightly arsenatian 'laubmannite' (as defined by Moore, 1970) has been refined in space group Pbcm (a = 5.172(1), b = 13.999(3), c = 31.083(6) Å , V = 2250.5(8) Å3, Z = 4) to R1 = 3.14%. The revised, idealized formula is (Fe3+,Fe2+,M)8+x(OH,H2O)9(- H2O)2(PO4)5, where M = Fe3+, Cu2+ or other metal cation, and x ≈ 0.1. The framework structures of both minerals are similar. Dominant building units are dimers composed of face- and edge-sharing FeO6 octahedra. Whereas kidwellite contains an additional trimer built of three corner-sharing FeO6 octahedra, 'laubmannite' instead contains a dimer built of two corner-sharing FeO6 octahedra. Kidwellite contains only trivalent iron, while one of the Fe sites in 'laubmannite' is occupied by a mixture of Fe3+ and Fe2+ in a 1:1 ratio. In both structures, the FeO6 -based building units are linked via corners to PO4 tetrahedra; the M sites are located in narrow channels and have very low occupancies (~2 to 7%) and strongly distorted [6]- or [5+1]-coordinations. Close structural relations between kidwellite and 'laubmannite', and other fibrous iron phosphates explain observations of epitaxial intergrowths of them.


In-depth studies carried out by the Swedish Road Administration 2000-2004 regarding fatal motorcycle accidents show that the number of killed motorcyclists has increased. The number was 39 year 2000 and 56 year 2004. The aim of the report is to answer the following: - Which differences regarding injury consequences for motorcycles can be found between different insurance classes? - How do the injury risks differ between motorcycle drivers of different age and motorcycles in different insurance classes? Since the end of the 1990s Bilprovningen, the Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Company, has been recording the mileage of all vehicles at the time of the annual inspection. This makes it possible to estimate in a reliable manner the annual mileages covered by motorcycles. The report accounts for mileages, year models, insurance classes, and the ages of the owner and rider in order to find relationships and to compare accident and injury risks in the period 2000-2004. Our principal conclusions are: o After the year 2000, the number of motorcycles mainly increased in insurance class F7 (motorcycles of very high engine power in relation to their weight) o Motorcycle riders younger than 25 account for the relatively high injury risks in the lower insurance classes. - Motorcycle riders younger than 30 account for the relatively high injury risks in the higher insurance classes (motorcycles of very high engine power) - The number of motorcycle riders who are killed, in relation to injured and severely injured motorcycle riders, is substantially higher for the group of motorcycles in insurance class F8 (upper segment of F7) compared with the other insurance classes.


Data security is crucial to safety-related vehicular applications. Critical challenges of unstable topologies and the collisions of uncoordinated data transmissions arise, due to the mobile and distributed nature of vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). We propose a new secure transmission protocol for VANETs, where the transmitter can adaptively switch between backing off transmissions to alleviate collisions, as well as changing keys, to increase success rate with matched keys. We also develop a new 3-dimensional (3-D) Markov model to characterize the protocol. Security analyses are carried out. Interesting insights and useful guidelines to adequately distribute keys among mobile vehicular nodes are also provided.


ABSTRACT Prior analyses of face-to-face contacts in collaborations have focused on one substitute only. Instead, we analyse various potential substitutes for face-to-face contacts in collaborations. Based on 45 interviews with academics from five leading European universities of technology our findings show that face-to-face contacts are closely intertwined with other mechanisms of coordination and communication for collaboration, particularly modern communication tools, proximity, and brokerage. Generally, to add personal and social proximity to their collaborations academics in our sample rely on face-to-face contacts. In their relationships with industrial partners, face-to-face contacts remain crucial to overcome cognitive and organizational distance. Yet when working with their peers, a number of partial substitutes for face-to-face contacts exist, knowingly combinations of temporary geographical proximity and modern communication tools. Moreover, PhD students can play a crucial role as junior brokers, overcoming a lack of face-to-face contacts between partners jointly supervising them while working in different locations.


In this commentary, we call upon critical labour scholars, including labour geographers, to feature what sociologist Palmer called the 'thrust of efficiency' more centrally in their work. We put forth that the push for efficiency, as made possible by digital technology, needs to be analysed in terms of its historical lineage as well as in terms of its geographical scope. Centreing efficiency in critical labour studies, necessitates three scholarly moves. These are particularly relevant for labour geography, a field that has so far tended to circumvent questions of coloniality/labour, digital Taylorism, and the politics of (re-)writing economic geographies, in by-passing the literatures that deal with them. The plantation, an analytical category and ontic reality that stretches across several yet often unconnected bodies of literature – literary studies, Black Geographies, Caribbean studies, and the Black Radical Tradition, as well as in Global History – is central to our effort. Eventually, writing the plantation into the technological present-future can be the starting point for a larger and historico-geographically informed critique, in economic geography and beyond, of efficiency, a mode of thinking-cum-praxis based on input–output calculations, objectifying practices, violent value extraction and the removal of undesired 'social frictions' for the sake of capital accumulation.


This paper presents a torque observer design, which can be used to accurately control and estimate impact torque of the Automobile wheelchair. The controllers compensate a force for the plant to track up command speed when the plant's torque is accurately observed. This method of observer design is to combine an adaptive observer and a PI controller to accurately control the apparatus. The adaptive load torque observer is used to estimate and predict the states of the plant, and the PI controller is used to control and accelerate tracking with speed command. This design is experimented on the Automobile wheelchair to show that the proposed method has good performances and is suitable for Automobile wheelchair design. Especially, in this paper the adaptive observer doesn't need to set more sensors than the conventional observer and measurement of the proposed observer is more accurate than that of the conventional load torque observer.


Dynamic frequency and voltage scaling (DVFS) techniques have been widely used for meeting energy constraints. Single-chip many-core systems bring new challenges owing to the large number of operating points and the shift to message passing interface (MPI) from shared memory communication. DVFS, however, has been mostly studied on single-chip systems with one or few cores, without considering the impact of the communication among cores. This paper evaluates the impact of frequency scaling on the performance and power of many-core systems with MPI. We conduct experiments on the Single-Chip Cloud Computer (SCC), an experimental many-core processor developed by Intel. The paper first introduces the run-time monitoring infrastructure and the application suite we have designed for an in-depth evaluation of the SCC. We provide an extensive analysis quantifying the effects of frequency perturbations on performance and energy efficiency. Experimental results show that run-time communication patterns lead to significant differences in power/performance tradeoffs in many-core systems with MPI.


Beyond doubt, learner-centered approach has proved to be effective for better learning outcomes. Drawing on a personal experience, I present in this paper how a mix of being involved with a series of training workshops, discussion with my colleagues, and the 'accidental' introduction of social constructivist tools in my classrooms gradually changed my view on the potential of technology in the learning process. It also looks at how a reflective diary helped me to leverage these experiences more effectively. It records a journey of interaction with education designers, other teachers and students, and how I selected the resources and approaches that might produce better learning opportunities for the learners. It further looks at the adoption of learning technology as a vehicle for developing the teacher's own understanding of the power of social learning. I address some of the challenges I encountered while making the shift. The paper concludes that intentionally reviewing one's teaching in collaboration with education experts, one's colleagues and learners is a positive experience and has resulted in an approach that has considerably shifted the focus to learners. I am optimistic that my fellow teachers find my experiences inspiring and we collectively can bring about a change for the benefit of the education sector.


Berries of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Barbera were infected, at veraison and during ripening, by a conidial suspension of A. japonicus, A. ochraceus, A. fumigatus and two isolates of A. carbonarius to control ochratoxin A production and stilbene induced synthesis. The experimental design provided also for intact and punctured berries and incubation temperature of 25 degrees C and 30 degrees C. All the tested fungi, except A. fumigatus, significantly increased trans-resveratrol synthesis over the control, while trans-piceid was not affected; only A. ochraceus significantly elicited the berries to synthesize piceatannol. The two isolates of A. carbonarius produced higher amounts of ochratoxin A than did the other fungi. A positive correlation between ochratoxin A and trans-resveratrol synthesis occurred. trans-Resveratrol and piceatannol showed fungicidal activity against A. carbonarius, being able to completely inhibit fungal growth at a concentration of 300 microg/g and 20 microg/g, respectively.


We report a low-power object-adaptive CMOS imager, which suppresses spatial temporal bandwidth. The object-adaptive imager has embedded a feature extraction algorithm for identifying objects of interest. The sensor wakes up triggered by motion sensing and extracts features from the captured image for the detection of object-of-interest (OOI). Full-image capturing operation and image signal transmission are performed only when the interested objects are found, which significantly reduces power consumption at the sensor node. This motion-triggered OOI imaging significantly saves a spatial bandwidth more than 96.5% from the feature output and saves a temporal bandwidth from the motion-triggered wakeup and object adaptive imaging. The sensor consumes low power by employing a reconfigurable differential-pixel architecture with reduced power supply voltage and by implementing the feature extraction algorithm with mixed-signal circuitry in a small area. The chip operates at 0.22 μW/frame in motion-sensing mode and at 3.4 μW/frame for feature extraction, respectively. The object detection from on-chip feature extraction circuits has demonstrated a 94.5% detection rate for human from a set of 200 sample images.


Glutathione, in its thiol-reduced form (GSH), is the most abundant antioxidant in the airway epithelial lining fluid. It acts as a vital intra- and extracellular antioxidant protecting oxidative/nitrosative stress, interceding the pro-inflammatory processes in the lungs. Aim: Relationship between pneumonia severity and GSH level have been studied. Methods: A case-conrol study took place at P. Stradins Clinical University hospital, Riga, Latvia. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with no underlying chronic heart failure (n=32), both males and females of average age 69,0+7,2 and healthy control patients matched for age (n=20) were recruited. CURB 65 (confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, BP, age ≥ 65 years) score was used for CAP severity assessment. The level of plasma GSH was determined. CAP clinical pattern was followed up for 3 weeks. Results: Being compared to control group, GSH level was reduced in CAP patients (mean GSH was 1.12+ 0,22 mmol/L versus 1.60+0,16 mmol/L accordingly). There was no correlation between GSH level and CAP severity by CURB65. However, in 8 patients respiratory failure (RF) has developed. All the patients, in whom RF has developed, demonstrated GSH level below 1,1 mmol/L on admission. Conclusions: A low concentration of plasma GSH indicating low antioxidant capacity could act as a marker for inflammation-related OS in CAP patients for its management and/or risk of complications stratification.


Perception is a complex, neural mechanism that requires organization and interpretation of input meaning and it has been a key topic in medicine, neuroscience and philosophy for centuries. Gestalt psychology proposed that the underlying mechanism is a constructive process that depends on both input of stimuli and the sensory-motor state of the agent. The Bayesian Brain hypothesis reframed it as probabilistic inference of previous beliefs, which are revised to accommodate new information. The Predictive Coding Theory proposes that this process is implemented through a top-down cascade of cortical predictions of lower level input and the concurrent propagation of a bottom-up prediction error aimed at revising higher level expectations. The "Active Inference" theory explains both perception and action, generalising the prediction error minimisation process. In this focused-review we provide a historical overview of the topic and an intuitive approach to the new computational models.


The ligament of Pecten maximus consists of two layers, the outer extending along the dorsal margin of the valves, and the inner situated between the valves in the region of the umbo. The former appears fibrous and is somewhat similar to the outer layer of other ligaments. The inner layer consists of three parts, a large central non-calcified structure and two lateral calcified regions attaching the former to the valves. The central region is characteristic of the ligament of P. maximus and associated species, this layer being uniformly calcified in the ligament of most bivalves.

When the valves are closed the outer layer is subjected to tensile stress and the inner to compression, and the force so derived tends to open the valves. This force and that required just to close the shell are expressed as the opening and closing moments of the ligament respectively, and these have been determined for various lamellibranchs.

The exact conditions of the opening and closing of the valves have been observed by drawing the stress-strain curves for the intact ligament, plotting the applied moment against the angle of gape. The loading and unloading curves so produced describe a hysteresis loop. The area enclosed in that of Pecten (or Chlamys ) is markedly less than that of other lamellibranchs and indicates the greater efficiency of the ligament of the former.

The mechanical properties of the isolated central region of the inner layer of the ligament of Pecten were investigated and showed similar properties to those of the intact ligament. The modulus of elasticity in compression of this region of the ligament of Pecten is approximately one-seventh of that of the inner layer of Ostrea or Lutraria , which are calcified structures. The ligament of the latter two bivalves has a greater opening moment but lower efficiency than that of Pecten . The characteristics of the ligament of Pecten are probably due to the central non-calcified region of the inner layer. The significance of these properties in regard to the swimming habit of Pecten is briefly discussed.


Joint space-time (ST) coding and constellation rotation is considered in the presence of imperfect channel state information. The combined system, with two transmit antennas, is shown to be more resistant to channel estimation errors than ST coding alone. Experiments involving several cases of channel estimation errors verify the related theory reported in the literature.


Gambling is no ordinary commodity. As a phenomenon it is fabricated and learned socially and culturally. In order to spend money on a game, humans must not only learn the logic of the game ("four cherries in a row are worth more than three hats") but they must also be internalised in a (il)logical bundle of justifications in terms of the value of doing so ("it is fun"; "I will become rich", or "If I play enough times, the likelihood of winning increases"). In this issue of Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs the latter circumstance of a cultural internalisation is demonstrated by Egerer and Marionneau's (2019) article on cultures and the convenience of gambling among Finnish and French gamblers. Their study shows that the activity has a different cultural position in the two countries: the internalising into gambling belongs in Finland to the sphere of everyday life, but in France it is connected with the peculiarities of the casino environment (see also Marionneau, 2015). This makes gambling such an intriguing case for cultural studies. In many countries, lottery games and other gambling activities were first provided and handled by civil society associations in order to collect incomes for their work. This is indeed a practical way of generating money: readers are likely, for example, to be familiar with school events where there is a lottery, and the revenues go to a school trip or some other venture that supports the children's school atmosphere or educational path. When a need arose by jurisdictions to regulate gambling more thoroughly, it was primarily for fiscal reasons (Sulkunen et al., 2018). In addition, there were a string of issues attached to this question of regulation: who was to gain revenues from gambling and how much; who was allowed to play; and where should the gambling activities take place? The bigger the gambling industry grew, the more questions followed – and appeared to have been overlooked historically. Now that the global gambling market is worth almost 500 billion USD gross yield (Statista, 2018), there is a great societal demand for making gambling policy a more integrated object of sociological, social political, and political science research. This thematic issue of NAD tries to answer this need by filling a small part of the gap in the Nordic literature.


Descriptors: Psoas muscles – abnormalities; Low back pain – etiology; Scoliosis – etiology; Hip joint – physiopathology; Pelvis-physiopathology Summary. We are presenting a case of a 58-year-old-male patient with a congenital hypoplasia of the lower portion of his left psoas muscle. This rare anomaly, which should be differentiated from other pathological conditions (destructive processes , tumors, metastases, inactivate atrophy), was discovered during the MRI examination of his lumbosacral (LS) spine which the patient underwent due to deterioration of chronic low back pain. His right psoas muscle was hypertrophic. CT examination of his abdomen has shown the identical finding. The MRI examination of his LS spine has shown the intensive and extensive degenerative changes. Besides the hypoplasia of the lower portion of his left psoas muscle, the radiological examinations of the LS spine (MRI) and abdomen (CT) have not shown any other congenital anomalies. Taking into consideration the patient history, the clinical finding, the results of the radiological and other examinations (EMNG) as well as the well known facts about psoas muscle anatomy and function (a stabilizer of the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip; the hip and trunk flexor; the lateral trunk flexor), in this case report, we analysed the clinical manifestations (lateral deviation of lumbar spine; pelvic asymmetry – pelvic torsion; increased hip extension on the side of the hypoplastic psoas muscle) and also the late consequences of the unilateral hypoplasia of the psoas muscle (unilateral hypoplasia of the psoas muscle → the overloading of the LS spine and the other psoas muscle → the chronic low back pain → the compensatory hypertrophy of the other psoas muscle → the intensive and extensive degenerative changes of the LS spine).Klini~kazapàanja Clinical observations


The article reviews the Bangladesh leather processing industries' relocation plan by applying the Social Theories of the City and the three environmental economics theories—Willingness to Pay, Pigovian Tax and Hedonic Pricing Method on the data collected by a questionnaire survey among the industries' owners and from the original project documents. Results prove the strong unwillingness of leather industries' owners to relocate and pay for relocation, failure at imposing Pigovian tax and the high hedonic prices of the houses including threats to inhabitants' health in the redeveloped residential area. In addition to high subsidy and compensation, historic growth trends and potential risks of flood and surface water resource pollution of Dhaka defy sustainability issues. Considering three consecutive failures to meet the relocation deadlines, these results claim that redeveloping an environment friendly leather processing zone at the present location will ensure sustainable urban development.


Present knowledge of the complexity of joint diseases makes it difficult to investigate the causes and early pathogenesis of canine hip dysplasia. Clinical signs of canine hip dysplasia including joint laxity may be a result of primary or secondary alterations of the joint. We already know that joint laxity is related to effusive synovitis (ie, accumulation of synovial fluid) and to other primary collagenous diseases. Canine hip dysplasia may be a third collagenous disease associated with joint laxity. This paper summarizes some of the studies that investigated the relationship between joint laxity and a defect in collagen metabolism and the influence that alterations in transsynovial flow have on joint laxity.


The radiometer or energy detector is useful in detecting target signals about which little is known. A practical radiometer is described and analyzed for the AWGN and Rayleigh channels with and without diversity combining. The practical implications of bandwidth, the number of samples processed, and imperfect noise-power estimation are examined. The radiometer has been criticized because of its alleged sensitivity to imperfect noise-power estimates. Conditions under which the noise-power estimation error is small are discussed. It is shown that the effects of this error on the probability of detection of the target signal can be kept small.


Prominent among the social developments that the web 2.0 has facilitated is digital social reading (DSR): on many platforms there are functionalities for creating book reviews, 'inline' commenting on book texts, online story writing (often in the form of fanfiction), informal book discussions, book vlogs, and more. In this article we argue that DSR offers unique possibilities for research into literature, reading, the impact of reading and literary communication. We also claim that in this context computational tools are especially relevant, making DSR a field particularly suitable for the application of Digital Humanities methods. We draw up an initial categorization of research aspects of DSR and briefly examine literature for each category. We distinguish between studies on DSR that use it as a lens to study wider processes of literary exchange as opposed to studies for which the DSR culture is a phenomenon interesting in its own right. Via seven examples of DSR research we discuss the chosen approaches and their connection to research questions in literary studies.


Damage Tolerance of Buckling-Critical Unidirectional Carbon, Glass, and Basalt Fiber Composites in Co-Cured Aramid Sleeves Michael D. Embley Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Compression strength after impact tests were conducted on unidirectional composite rods with sleeves. These elements represent local members of open three-dimensional composite lattice structures (e.g., based on isogrid or IsoTruss® technologies). The unidirectional cores composed of carbon, glass, or basalt fiber/epoxy composites were co-cured in aramid sleeves. Sleeve patterns included both bi-directional (unsymmetric) braids and unidirectional spiral wraps with sleeve coverage ranging from nominally half to full. The diameters were nominally 8 and 11 mm (5/16 and 7/16 in). The larger diameter had nominally twice the cross-sectional area, to quantify the effects of scaling. The specimens were long enough to encourage local buckling failure as expected in members of typical composite lattice structures. The unsupported lengths varied from 127 mm (5.0 in) to 160 mm (6.3 in). Specimens were radially impacted at midlength with energy levels ranging from 0 to 20 J (0 to 14.8 ft-lbs) and tested in longitudinal compression to quantify the effects of local impact damage on the buckling strength. In undamaged specimens, sleeve type and sleeve coverage have no effect on the ultimate compression strength of carbon, glass, or basalt composites (7% or less standard deviation for each material). When impacted, the influence of sleeve type and sleeve coverage varies with the type of fiber in the unidirectional core. Sleeve type and coverage did not affect the compression strength after impact for fiberglass composites. On the other hand, both carbon and basalt composites exhibited improved performance with braided (vs. spiral) sleeves (up to 34% stronger) and full (vs. half) coverage (up to 38% stronger). The compression strength of carbon configurations decreases with increasing impact energy regardless of sleeve type or coverage. The higher flexibility of glass and basalt composites, however, allowed some configurations to maintain the same compression strength after impact as their undamaged counterparts, at lower impact energy levels. Doubling cross-sectional area of basalt composites significantly improves the stiffness and compression strength after impact, more than doubling the impact energy required to achieve the same compression strength.


We present a variational Bayesian identification procedure for polynomial NARMAX models based on message passing on a factor graph. Message passing allows us to obtain full posterior distributions for regression coefficients, precision parameters and noise instances by means of local computations distributed according to the factorization of the dynamic model. The posterior distributions are important to shaping the predictive distribution for outputs, and ultimately lead to superior model performance during 1-step ahead prediction and simulation.


Rainfall-runoff models are amongst the most important tools for the practical solution of flood estimation problems, as well as for theoretical investigations of controls on the flood frequency curve or for analysis of catchment and climate change. This article aims to provide a discussion of the use of rainfall-runoff modeling for flood estimation, with an emphasis on overall methodology rather than on specific hydrological models. After a brief introduction to some basic concepts of flood analysis, the article describes the two main approaches for applying rainfall-runoff models in flood estimation, namely, event-based modeling and continuous simulation. The theoretical basis for each approach is described along with typical model structures. Topics covered include rainfall models, hydrological model calibration and the estimation of parameters for modeling at ungauged or data-poor sites. The article concentrates on the development of the continuous simulation method, and includes a number of illustrations of its application, both from research studies and applied hydrology.


Two autolysis-defective mutants (Lyt-1 and Lyt-2) of Staphylococcus aureus have been isolated by transposon Tn917-lacZ mutagenesis. The mutants exhibited normal growth rate, cell division, cell size, and adaptive responses to environmental changes. No autolytic activities were detected in a crude autolytic enzyme preparation from the Lyt- mutants. The rate of autolysis of whole cells and cell walls in the mutants were negligible, but mutant cell wall preparations were degraded by crude enzyme preparations from the wild-type strain. Zymographic analyses of enzyme extracts from the mutants showed a single autolytic enzyme band, compared with more than 10 autolytic enzyme bands from the parent strain. Analyses of intracellular and exoprotein fractions gave results similar to those in experiments with total-cell extracts. Southern blot analysis indicated the insertion of a single copy of the transposon into the chromosome of Lyt mutants. Isogenic Lyt mutants constructed by phage phi 11 transduction showed similar phenotypes. Because both Lyt- mutants had Tn917-lacZ inserted in the appropriate orientation, it was possible to determine gene activity under various conditions by measuring beta-galactosidase activity. The gene activity was found to be induced by low pH, low temperature, and high sucrose and high sodium chloride concentrations. From these data, we propose that the mutation lies in either a master regulatory gene or a structural gene which is responsible for the synthesis or processing of a majority of the autolytic enzyme bands.


Uncertainties about climate change consequences, changing societal requirements and system complexity require flood protection asset managers to continuously evaluate their asset management policies and practice to manage risk and improve the resilience of their assets. However, there are many challenges in doing this, with asset operators often facing conflicting interests and major uncertainties about the future needs for asset performance. In the EU Interreg IV FAIR project, flood protection asset owners and operators, with scientific partners from the North Sea Region of Europe collaborated to develop practical guidance for adaptive asset management of flood protection infrastructure. The central component of this guidance is the FAIR framework, presented here. The framework combines insights and principles from ISO 55000 on asset management and ISO 14090 on climate adaptation with asset operator experiences to provide a practical guide for integration of asset management considerations within both strategic and operational contexts via a tactical handshake. This is a means to avoid the common lack of connection between strategic plans and operational practice. The applicability of the framework is illustrated with examples from Pilot Cases within the FAIR project, in which its value in terms of improved asset management and reduced costs has been demonstrated.


After effectively suppressing the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia is progressively opening a range of public settings. The first wave of the pandemic was mostly associated with imported cases. The next phase may be epidemiologically similar to the transmission dynamic in South Korea and Hong Kong which has been characterised by superspreading events in high risk settings. Most cases of COVID-19 do not infect others. 80% of the onward transmission of the pandemic may arise from less than 20% of cases and may be concentrated in high risk settings. High risk settings are defined by having been associated with superspreading events in the current COVID-19 pandemic or in past respiratory disease outbreaks. Five high-risk settings will be used as case studies to explore factors associated with transmission risk, specifically night club and karaoke rooms, gymnasiums, ski resorts, cruise ships, churches and religious gatherings. Some settings will be difficult to open until effective herd immunity is achieved through vaccination or natural infection. High risk venue openings should be managed through robust risk benefit analysis and enhanced surveillance for superspreading events and settings.


Ciprofloxacin, a quinolone antibacterial, was evaluated in the treatment of gonococcal, chlamydial, gonococcal and chlamydial, and non-gonococcal non-chlamydial urethritis. The dosage regimen used was 500 mg orally twice a day for seven days. Of the 56 patients evaluated 22 had gonococcal infection only, 13 were infected with Chlamydia trachomatis only, seven had combined infection, and 14 were harbouring neither of these organisms. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was cleared in all the 29 patients with or without chlamydial infection. Of those who denied having sexual intercourse during the follow-up period, post gonococcal urethritis (PGU) developed in 12 (63%) out of 19, C trachomatis was isolated again from 11 (78%) out of 14, and urethritis recurred in five (55%) out of nine patients with non-gonococcal non-chlamydial infection. There was also evidence that the dosage regimen used was only partially effective against Ureaplasma urealyticum.


This paper reflects on the possible relationship between organizational cultures and ethics. It begins by pointing out that viewing companies as cultures legitimates the creation of values and shared meanings as part of business practice. But it also points out that there is a risk involved: management by values can be a new form of manipulation and control. The author suggests that this danger can be averted and proposes that creation of corporate cultures be examined in the light of Aristotelian thought. However, he stress that this return to Aristotelian tradition cannot ignore corporate social responsibility or the need to imbue corporate cultures with a post-conventional perspective.


Chitinase 1 (Chi1) is an acidic and thermostable hydrolytic enzyme capable of the breakdown of chitin, a resilient biopolymer that is the primary building block of fungi cell walls and marine exoskeletons. In this study, Chi1 was purified from the bacterium Streptomyces thermodiastaticus HF 3-3, and its properties were carefully characterized. The molecular mass of Chi1 was estimated to be approximately 46 kDa and, through sequencing, its N-terminal amino acid sequence was identified as ADSGKVKL. Although the optimal operating temperature and pH for Chi1 were determined to be 65°C and pH 5.5, respectively, the purified enzyme was stable over wide pH (1.5-9) and temperature ranges. Moreover, Chi1 retained 87% of its activity in the presence of 15% NaCl. While Chi1 activity was inhibited by Ag+ and Mn2+, other chemicals tested had no significant effect on its enzymatic activity. The Km and Vmax values of Chi1 for the substrate colloidal chitin were 1.23 ± 0.7 mg/mL and 6.33 ± 1.0 U/mg, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography analysis of the enzymatic reaction end products mainly detected diacetylchitobiose. We also cloned the Chi1 gene and purified the recombinant protein; the properties of the recombinant enzyme were nearly identical to those of the native enzyme. Therefore, Chi1 purified from S. thermodiastaticus HF 3-3 is unique, as it is highly stable under broad range of pH values, temperatures, and chemical exposures. Combined, these properties make this enzyme attractive for use in the industrial bioconversion of chitin.


Preparatory information does not always reduce anxiety in patients scheduled for a stressful medical procedure. This study assessed the effects of information-based interventions presented intra-procedurally and monitoring coping style on distress and anxiety in patients undergoing an invasive diagnostic procedure to examine pre-cancerous cervical lesions. One hundred and fifty five first-time colposcopy patients were randomly assigned to an information-avoidant (relaxation or cognitive distraction), information-high (video colposcopy), or a control condition. Main outcome measures included state anxiety, mood, physiological and observational measures of distress. Psychophysiological measures of anxiety significantly reduced over time, with the highest measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and heart rate obtained at baseline. A mixed analysis of variance demonstrated a significant time × information condition × monitoring status interaction on SBP, F(6, 294) = 4.01, p = .001. During colposcopy, low monitors exhibited significantly lower SBP than high monitors in the control condition, and high monitors displayed significantly lower SBP in the relaxation condition and the video colposcopy condition than in the control condition. There were no significant interactions between coping style and level of information on self-report measures of distress, although state anxiety and negative affect was significantly reduced following colposcopy. The results confirm that matching preferred coping style to level of information reduces physiological arousal associated with an invasive medical procedure, but mainly for patients with high monitoring coping style. Low monitors may have greater coping flexibility than high monitors, and may be able to utilise a variety of coping strategies.


In this paper I review my engagement with argumentation over the past forty years. I describe the perspective I brought from philosophy and the Civil Service, and consider a number of aspects of computational argumentation: knowledge based systems, explanation, context, audiences, schemes and models. A key feature of argumentation is that it is an activity which has to be actively engaged with, whereas a proof is an object to be understood and admired.


On-device machine learning (ML) has brought about the accessibility to a tremendous amount of data from the users while keeping their local data private instead of storing it in a central entity. However, for privacy guarantee, it is inevitable at each device to compensate for the quality of data or learning performance, especially when it has a non-IID training dataset. In this paper, we propose a data augmentation framework using a generative model: multi-hop federated augmentation with sample compression (MultFAug). A multi-hop protocol speeds up the end-to-end over-the-air transmission of seed samples by enhancing the transport capacity. The relaying devices guarantee stronger privacy preservation as well since the origin of each seed sample is hidden in those participants. For further privatization on the individual sample level, the devices compress their data samples. The devices sparsify their data samples prior to transmissions to reduce the sample size, which impacts the communication payload. This preprocessing also strengthens the privacy of each sample, which corresponds to the input perturbation for preserving sample privacy. The numerical evaluations show that the proposed framework significantly improves privacy guarantee, transmission delay, and local training performance with adjustment to the number of hops and compression rate.


Abstract. Salt water intrusion in estuaries is expected to become a serious global issue due to climate change. Van der Burgh's coefficient, K, is a good proxy for describing the relative contribution of tide-driven and gravitational (discharge-driven and density-driven) components of salt transport in estuaries. However, debate continues over the use of the K value for an estuary where K should be a constant, spatially varying, or time-independent factor for different river discharge conditions. In this study, we determined K during spring and neap tides in the dry (  750 m−3 s−1) seasons in a salt plug estuary with an exponentially varying width and depth, to examine the relative contributions of tidal versus density-driven salt transport mechanisms. High-resolution salinity data were used to determine K. Discharge-driven gravitational circulation (K ∼ 0.8) was entirely dominant over tidal dispersion during spring and neap tides in the wet season, to the extent that salt transport upstream was effectively reduced, resulting in the estuary remaining in a relatively fresh state. In contrast, K increased gradually seaward (K ∼ 0.74) and landward (K ∼ 0.74) from the salt plug area (K ∼ 0.65) during the dry season, similar to an inverse and positive estuary, respectively. As a result, density-driven inverse gravitational circulation between the salt plug and the sea facilitates inverse estuarine circulation. On the other hand, positive estuarine circulation between the salt plug and the river arose due to density-driven positive gravitational circulation during the dry season, causing the upstream intrusion of high-salinity bottom water. Our results explicitly show that K varies spatially and depends on the river discharge. This result provides a better understanding of the distribution of hydrographic properties.


Three variational vector equations are derived for the extended particle-field object located on the light cone. Point sources are excluded from the pure field equations and all physical magnitudes are free from divergences. Accepting 3D intersections of 4D cone-charges, vector electrogravity explains all observed phenomena under common flat 3D and 1D intervals. External cone-charges contribute to pseudo-Riemannian metrics of proper four-spaces of charged objects, resulting in dilation-compression of their proper time rates. Photon-type gravitational radiation is not associated with metric modulation of flat, laboratory space. The Minkowski-Lorentz equation for free charges corresponds to the equivalence principle for the canonical four-space. The predicted criterion of double unification, particles with fields - gravity with electrodynamics, is confirmed in vector electrogravity.


Various contenders for a complete theory of quantum gravity are at odds with each other. This is in particular seen in the ways they relate to information and black holes, and how to effectively treat quantization of the background spacetime. Modern perspectives on black hole evaporation suggest that quantum gravity effects in the near-horizon region can perturb the local geometry. The approaches differ, however, in the time scale on which one can expect these effects to become important. This panel session presents three points of view on these problems, and considers the ultimate prospect of observational tests in the near future.


Due to steady advancements in semiconductor technology, greatly-enhanced memory capacity and high-speed data processing are now available, creating many evolving types of audio and video electronic products. The digital camera represents this trend well, where image sensor evolution has been responsible for enabling strong market growth. CCD image sensors have contributed to the miniaturization of cameras by their continuous march toward smaller pixel size and improved resolution, leading to more megapixels and enhanced image quality. Recently, the image-sensor shift from CCDs to CMOS has enabled faster capture speeds and convenient HD (High Definition). The result of this evolution has been the impressive growth of the digital camera market. This presentation will illustrate the achievements of image-sensor development, and will outline the corresponding advancements in digital cameras. Further, the future of digital cameras will be elaborated, illustrating the way in which image sensors are leading camera growth.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the aetiological types of granulomatous disease of the breast in women presenting with mammary complaints in the Sudan.

METHODS
Clinical history and physical examination, complete blood counts, Mantoux test, histopathology and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).

RESULTS
Granulomatous mastitis was seen in 11/2500 (0.44%) patients with mammary disease over a 10-year period. All were of childbearing age (mean 26.0 +/- 5.9 years). Common presentations were diffuse swelling, well-circumscribed masses, nipple retraction, multiple sinuses and superficial skin ulcers. Lymphadenopathy was seen in more than 60% of the patients. Diagnosis was based on cytomorphological features in 10/11 cases and histopathology in one. Nine were diagnosed with tuberculous mastitis and two with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) could not be demonstrated in any of the cytology smears. Tuberculous mastitis responded to empirical anti-tuberculosis treatment, with a minimum follow-up of 2 years in seven women.

CONCLUSION
Tuberculous mastitis is a rare entity in women with mammary disease in the Sudan. Alternative diagnoses such as idiopathic granulomatous mastitis should be made only after failure of an adequate trial of anti-tuberculosis treatment. FNAC is a useful diagnostic tool even if AFB cannot be demonstrated.